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Lot Essay
‘The discovery and understanding of the historical value of my father’s work began in 2012 after a chance meeting with Catherine David. She guided me and introduced me to the idea of creating a Foundation. The Aref El Rayess Foundation was established to Preserve, Protect and Promote the Legacy of my late father. Our activities cover digitizing, documenting, cataloguing and research of items in our archives, in local and ultimately international collections and the restoration of works of art at the Estate. The funds received from selling this work at Christie’s would go towards sponsoring our activities. My big dream is to bring the Estate back to life by turning it into a cultural institution for the artist and a place to research art’.
-HALA EL RAYESS
A multi-disciplinary artist and thinker, Aref El Rayess’ eclectic upbringing between Lebanon, Dakar and Paris allowed him to develop as one of the most important figures in the Lebanese modern and contemporary art history. He expressed himself in a variety of ways and was fast to switch between distinct styles in different periods.
Embracing realism and symbolism whilst reaching some form of abstraction, the artist was very much influenced by the doctrine of the Druze. El Rayess' works and thought processes imply a deep-rooted belief in notions of mysticism, reincarnation and the symbiosis of man and universe.
In the 1980s the artist moved to Saudi Arabia and while traveling within the desert he was heavily drawn to the spirituality and serenity of the landscape of the desert and the long beach shores of Jeddah. He was inspired by the purity of the light, which he considered to be blessed and sacred and was compelled to capture in his works the essence of the mysticism and spirituality in which he so fervently believed. This lot captures the artist’s deep-rooted liberation of mind and soul.
-HALA EL RAYESS
A multi-disciplinary artist and thinker, Aref El Rayess’ eclectic upbringing between Lebanon, Dakar and Paris allowed him to develop as one of the most important figures in the Lebanese modern and contemporary art history. He expressed himself in a variety of ways and was fast to switch between distinct styles in different periods.
Embracing realism and symbolism whilst reaching some form of abstraction, the artist was very much influenced by the doctrine of the Druze. El Rayess' works and thought processes imply a deep-rooted belief in notions of mysticism, reincarnation and the symbiosis of man and universe.
In the 1980s the artist moved to Saudi Arabia and while traveling within the desert he was heavily drawn to the spirituality and serenity of the landscape of the desert and the long beach shores of Jeddah. He was inspired by the purity of the light, which he considered to be blessed and sacred and was compelled to capture in his works the essence of the mysticism and spirituality in which he so fervently believed. This lot captures the artist’s deep-rooted liberation of mind and soul.